It belongs in a museum: Wargaming rescues and conserves one of a kind World War II bomber

Wargaming's Dornier 17 project

After developing World of Warplanes, it undoubtedly comes as no surprise to anyone that Wargaming is a bit of a fan of military aircraft. But it goes beyond recreating the aircraft for gaming. 

In 2013, The Royal Air Force Museum and Wargaming teamed up to conserve and partially restore the last known Dornier Do 17 light bomber, used in World War II by Germany. Restored parts of the plane, cleaned and preserved by teams of staff and volunteers, have been displayed in the museum.

Come next year, the plane itself will be displayed in the Royal Air Force Museum in Cosford, Shropshire, here in Blighty. 

Wargaming and the RAF Museum also launched a mobile app, Apparition. It’s an AR app, which shows a virtual version of the aircraft flying through the museum. Of course, the virtual Do 17 can be seen flying all over the world. It’s available for iOS, and an Android version is due out soon.

“Offering people around the world to participate in each step of the Dornier Do17 renovation process has been a truly gratifying experience,” said Tracy Spaight, Special Projects Director at Wargaming. “As a company heavily invested in the preservation of military history, we feel it’s important to show our gratitude and appreciation towards these unique relics.“

The Do 17 saw use from the 1930s until production ended in 1940. In its ten years of production, it participated in the Spanish Civil War and World War II, and as one of Germany’s main bombers, it assaulted Britain during the Blitz. The Do 17 recovered by Wargaming and the RAF Museum was actually brought up out of the ocean.

If you want to check out the current display, you can visit the RAF Museum in Shropshire, and there’s no entry fee.